- Liaoning, accompanied by two destroyers, two frigates and a combat support ship spotted by Japan as it passes through the Miyako Strait on Saturday evening
- Carrier is the only ship of its kind still operational in the region after USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Ronald Reagan are forced to dock after crew are hit by Covid-19
South China Morning Post
Date: 12 Apr, 2020
By: Liu Zhen
Taiwan scrambled warships on Saturday night to monitor the movements of a mainland Chinese carrier strike group after it was spotted by Japan heading towards the western Pacific.The fleet, led by China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was seen passing through the Miyako Strait near Okinawa, and then turning south, the Japanese Ministry of Defence said.
Although the precise location or heading of the group was unknown, the Taiwanese navy scrambled ships from the northeastern port of Suao to monitor the situation, the island’s defence ministry said.
The Miyako Strait is about 330km (205 miles) due east of the northernmost tip of Taiwan.
“We have conducted reconnaissance and monitoring over the sea and air space around Taiwan,” ministry spokesman Shih Shun-wen said. [FULL STORY]